Millheim Journal. [volume] (Millheim, Pa.) 1876-1984, 1887-10-13

Splendid Sights TO be Seen "Free"
With an Opera Glass.

The lirst thing the observer Of The
moon will wish TO see are the noun
tains, for everybody has heard OF them
and the most sluggish imagination is
stirred by the thought that one can
look off into the sky and behold the
"eternal hills" of another planet as sol.
Id aud substantial as our own. But the
chances are that, IL left to their own
guidance 30 persons out Of 100 would
choose the wrong time TO see these
mountains. Unless warned beforehand,
they invariably wait until full moon,
when the flood of sunshine poured per-
pendicularly upon the face of our satel.
lite and conceals it's rugged features as
eiIectually rs if n veil had been drawn
over them. Begin yo@r observations
with the appearance of the narroWest
crescent of the new moon, and follow
1t gradually as it fills, and then you will
see how beautifully the advancing line
OF lunar sunrise reveals the mountains,
over whose slopes and peaks it is clint =
ing, by its ragged and sinuous outline.
The observer must keep in mind the
fact that he is looking straight down
upon the tops of the lunar mountains.
1t is like view from n balloon, only at
vastly greater height than any balloon
has ever attained. Even with a power
full telescope the observer sees the moon
ut an apparent distance of several hun
dred miles, while with field glass,
magnifying six diameters, the moon ap-
pears as il 40 600 miles off.
II is the contrast Of lights and shad-
ows that not only reyeals the lunar
mountains to us, but enables us 10
measure their height. On the moon
shadows are very much darker than ur-
on the earth, because of the extreme
rarity of the moons atmosphere, If in
deed it has any atmosphere ut all. BY
stepping around the corner Of rock
there, one might pass abruptly from
dazzling MONDAY into the blackness of
midnight. The surface of the moon Is
extraordinary rough and uneven. 1t
possesses broad plans, which are prot
ABLY the bottoms of ancient seas that
have now dried up, but these cover only
about two-fifths of the surface visible
TO us, and most of the remaining three
lifths are exceedingly rugged and
mountainous.
Many OF the mountains Of the moon
are, foot for foot ,as lofty as the highest
mountains on the earth, while all Of
them, in proportion TO the size of the
moons globe, are much larger than the
earth's mountains. 1t Is obvious then,
that the sunshine, as it creeps over
these Alpine landscapes in the moon,
casting the black shadows Of the peaks
and craiters many miles across the
plains. and Gaping the SUBMITS Of
lofty mountains with light, while the
lower regions far around them are yet
buried in night, must clearly reveal the
character OF the lunar surface. Mour-
tains that cannot be seen at all when
the light falls perpeadicularly upon
them, or, at the most, appear then
merely as shining points, picture them
selves by their shadows IN startling
silhouettes when Illuminated laterally
by the rising sun.
But at full moon, when the noun
tains hide themselves in light. the old
sea-beds are seen spread out among the
shining table-lands with great distinct
ness. Even the naked eye readily de-
tects these AS illdefned, dark patches
upon the face of the moon, and 10 their
presence are due the popular notions
that have prevailed in all quarters OF
the world about the Man in the Moon,
the Woman in the Moon Jacob in
the Moon the Hare in the Moon the
Toad in the Moon,' and so on. But,
however clearly one may imagine that
he discerns man in the moon while re.
calling the nursery rhymes about him,
an opera glass instantly puts the spec.
ter to flight, and shows the round lunar
disk diversified and shaded like a mar.
Popular Science Monthly.